Microsoft Xbox turns 10

Expanding the possibilities of its controller free motion gaming peripheral in time to capitalise on the pre-Christmas shopping rush, Microsoft's confirmed first fleet of voice controlled television and entertainment apps for Kinect are to land today alongside the eagerly awaited Dashboard update.

Set to further enhance user’s experiences with the Xbox 360 games console and its innovative add-on the new Kinect for Xbox 360 update will see users able to control a host of new features via voice controls with Bing searches able to be made and a fleet of new movie and TV on-demand content available for selection.

“A new era in entertainment begins where all your entertainment is together in one place—your games, movies, TV shows, music and sports,” said Don Mattrick, president of the Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft. “With this update, Xbox 360 system owners will experience Kinect voice control integrated with Bing search, making your TV and entertainment experiences more social and personal than ever.”

Microsoft Xbox 360 Entertainment Update

Set to launch later today, December 6th, the new Xbox content and Kinect search features will offer a bevy of additional content options with an official Microsoft spokesperson describing the move as the ‘next wave’ of console content.

“This Christmas and beyond, in addition to offering the best blockbuster and Kinect games, Xbox 360 consoles are set to deliver live and on-demand TV shows, movies, videos, sports, music and news, becoming the best device to experience all your entertainment. TV and movie fans can instantly stream live television via our current UK TV partner, Sky.”

With the US to benefit from a host of content options from launch including ESPN, Hulu, Netflix and Today, UK users of the advancing service will be able to get their feature film fill from LOVEFILM. This currently limited offering is to be expanded later in the month with 4OD, Demand 5, YouTube, Blinkbox, MSN and Vevo all set to land for UK users. The BBC and its hugely popular iPlayer service are set to touch down in early 2012.

What do you make of the new Xbox 360 entertainment features, does it tempt you to go out and splash out on a new console and Kinect package? Let us know via the comments box below.